


That Home

by Destiny_Writer



Category: Naruto
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, F/M, Fluff, Librarian!Mei, Libraries are fun places, Modern AU, Oops?, PTSD flashback, Somehow I put angst in a library AU, and the problems those cause, kakashi has ptsd, overdue books, there's fluff too i swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-15 19:28:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18675991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destiny_Writer/pseuds/Destiny_Writer
Summary: These days, all Kakashi ever did was read.(AKA, the adventures of troubled bookworm Kakashi and Librarian Mei)





	That Home

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by @auberghyn, who gave out an awesome plot bunny about a bookworm Kakashi and librarian Mei that I just had to try and write. Hopefully I did it justice!  
> Big shoutout to @Ohayohimawari and the KakaMei discord server for all the encouragement!
> 
> This is my first fic so any and all comments and constructive criticism is welcome! If you don't want to comment here, you can find me at destinys-writer on tumblr.

These days, all Kakashi ever did was read.

Initially, the habit was innocent enough. Kakashi used books as a source of excitement after retiring from the military. After all, going from being in command of people risking their lives on battlefields to being responsible for making sure children did their exercises properly was a pretty rough transition.

He would pick up a good novel and disappear in a new and interesting world whenever life felt a little too mundane. However, the more time went by, the more he felt the need to draw away from reality, and the more dependent he became. It continued to spiral downward to the point where Kakashi brought a book along with him everywhere.

Still, it was easy enough to explain away. He could tell anyone who asked that it was to prevent boredom or that he just really wanted to find out what happened next. Those excuses were true enough, in any case. After enough repetition, people started to buy it, and most left him alone about it.

Most, however, did not mean all. His coworker and friend Asuma would give him pointed looks whenever he walked around with his nose in a new novel. Kurenai was more direct, asking about how he was doing or inquiring about other hobbies. Fellow gym teacher Tenzo, being another ex-military man, was the most openly concerned. He recognized the far away looks, the unwillingness to talk, the twitches and winces when the instinct for action got a little too close to the surface. That gave Kakashi some space whenever he needed it; however, it didn’t free him from Tenzo’s creepy teacher stare. There wasn’t much Kakashi wouldn’t do to get out from that particular look, which meant he did have to talk about what was bothering him. After enough needling and one too many stilted conversations, Tenzo proposed the theory that the books were an escape from something a lot more serious than boredom.

At the time, Kakashi had denied it and told Tenzo he was unnecessarily worried. But if Kakashi was being completely honest with himself, Tenzo had a point. He just needed something, _anything_ to get his mind out of the past. Whenever his ghosts decided to make a reappearance, he could pull out whatever novel he had and get lost in it. Sure, it probably wasn’t the healthiest coping mechanism; Hell, even Kakashi could recognize that. What was the alternate? Actually face his emotions head on? Kakashi was a master of many things; coming to terms with his feelings was not one of them.

He knew that all of his friends were simply looking out for him, and he appreciated the concern, but eventually the prodding felt suffocating. In order to avoid the extra third degree, Kakashi would hide in the library after work. At least while there, he wouldn’t get bothered about how he wasn’t facing his issues. And if there was also the side benefit of getting to see the gorgeous spitfire librarian who ran the place, well. No one would blame him for it.

Mei Terumi was a vision in bright red and deep blue, not to mention an effective leader. She took a failing library from the brink of bankruptcy and reformed it into something beautiful and thriving, complete with decorative displays and a new children’s section. The two of them had only interacted a handful of times in the past, whenever Mei was working the checkout counter or wandering around the library to make sure everything was running smoothly, and with each encounter she somehow managed to charm him further. Even the time she had questioned him on his taste in novels was something special. Naturally, he’d had to defend his preferences, and it evolved into an interesting conversation about favorite genres and authors. He’d gotten her to laugh by the end of it, so despite the fact that she’d still been mocking the novels by the end, he considered the talk a win.

Try as he might though, sometimes the distractions weren’t enough. The worst days were the ones where reading didn’t work. And regrettably, it happened to be one of those days. Kakashi wasn’t sure what had triggered the memory to surface. That knowledge was getting lost among flashes of fights and bloodshed. He was vaguely aware of his feet moving and a familiar weight in his hands, but he couldn’t stay in reality enough to know what it was or where he was going. No matter how hard he tried to keep his focus on anything else, Kakashi couldn’t see past the memories of his friend covered in his own blood, smiling at him with red teeth and telling him that it would all be okay. Everything was feeling too confining, too _hot,_ but he couldn’t do anything about it. His head was starting to fill with the sounds of gunshots and white noise. _It wasn’t okay_. Obito was dead because he had been too _slow_ and now he couldn’t even see where he was. Kakashi’s heart was beating impossibly fast. God, he _couldn’t breathe—_

Something smacking against his forehead jarred Kakashi out of his thoughts and nearly caused him to jump a foot in the air. After physically shaking himself, he whipped his head around to get his bearings. It partially helped to banish the toxins in his head; instead of seeing red, he had an eyeful of the black and white pages of a book. _Ah, so that’s what hit him_. Kakashi set it down in his lap in favor of placing a hand over his chest and taking note of all the shelves around. He may be back in the present, but his heart rate hadn’t calmed down any.

It was almost jarring, actually. He didn’t remember having come to the library, yet he there he was, sitting in his favorite spot in the library with the newest Icha Icha novel and a sinking feeling of complete confusion. Attempting to get back on track, Kakashi skimmed the pages to find the last place he remembered reading, realized he truly has no idea where he had left off, and decided to restart the chapter. Not a problem.

That is, until about halfway through when someone came up and snatched the book from him.

He looked up with a scowl, an irritated barb ready on his tongue for whoever thought it was okay to interrupt his important reading time, yet all anger died in his throat upon seeing Mei Terumi in all her glory staring back at him.

“You’re Kakashi Hatake, yes?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. It took a moment for Kakashi to find his tongue, his previous anxiety momentarily replaced with a different sort of panic.

“That’s me,” He said. And if it sounded a little dazed, Mei didn’t outwardly take notice. “Did you need something?”

The look she leveled him with was entirely unimpressed. “You have fourteen overdue books, all of which have unpaid late fees.”

Kakashi’s stomach sank once again. “… _Ah.”_

It’s not like Kakashi had been actively trying to hoard enough books to land himself on the local library’s equivalent of a most wanted list. It’s just that every time he tried to return some of them, something or other came up and sent him off down a random path of life. And really, who was he to say no to a little adventure, especially the time-wasting kind? There may have also been great reluctance to let his escape routes go too, some level of panic rising whenever he even thought about giving them up, but…it was mostly the forgetfulness thing.

Not that he was going to tell _her_ that. He had a feeling she wouldn’t take that excuse too kindly. Instead he wracked his brain for something that would be considered a normal reason for such forgetfulness and blurted the first thing that came to mind.

“My dogs ate them.”

It did cause Mei to pause for a second in sheer disbelief, long enough for Kakashi to catch up with what his mouth just said and to mentally facepalm because _really brain_? _That’s_ the best you can do?

“ _Excuse_ _me_?” Mei said, her eyes narrowing dangerously. “You let your dogs eat _fourteen_ of my books?”

_Uh-oh_. Clearly, they both thought that wasn’t the right answer. Time to backtrack. “Sorry, slip of the tongue,” He said with a casual shrug he didn’t feel. “I meant my dogs _hid_ them. They’re quite the trouble makers. Especially Pakkun. I bet you it was his work.”

“Uh-huh,” Mei hummed, still skeptical. She huffed after a moment, the beginnings of a smile peaking onto her cherry red lips. “So long as I get them back in one piece, I suppose it isn’t a problem. Though you’ve certainly been giving me and the staff some grief.”

Kakashi took that as the great victory it was and decided to push his luck further. It’s not like he could’ve made a bigger fool of himself at this point. “How about I make it up to you with dinner?” He asked, putting on his most charming smile even as his heart was rising into his throat.

“I don’t know how well business will appreciate repayment by date.” Her tone is dry as dust, but the way her mouth started dragging up at the corners betrayed her amusement. She tapped her chin twice with a matching red fingernail, fixing Kakashi with a considering stare before seemingly coming to a conclusion. Mei’s resulting smile was sharp, but it was earnest. “Alright, how about we make a deal?”

There was something that felt dangerously like hope blooming in Kakashi’s chest. “What’s the deal?” He asked calmly.

“You will actually return the damn book and pay the damn fees, and I’ll think about whether I want to accept your offer,” She said. Not the quite the eager acceptance he was hoping for, but he’d be lying if he said it didn’t still make him feel like he could breathe a little better. He had a reputation to uphold, however, so instead of immediately accepting the offer, he said, “That deal seems a bit one-sided, don’t you think?”

Mei’s grin didn’t waver. “Take it or leave it, pretty boy.”

“You think I’m pretty?”

“Yes or no, Hatake?”

Kakashi pretended to think it over for a moment. He considered how long he could drag it out just to rile Mei up a little, then she started narrowing her eyes and he decided against it. He did still have _some_ self-preservation instincts left.

“Yes, I think I’ll take it,” He said firmly. “When can I expect your answer on dinner?”

“You’ll get it after you take care of those books and not a second before. So if you really want that dinner, I’d be quick about settling that debt of yours.”

As Mei started to walk away, Kakashi reached down into his lap to resume his reading session and found a distinct lack of book. He glanced up to see the Icha Icha still clutched in her hands and felt the irritation from earlier flare up again. “Hey, wait!” He called. “I was still reading that!”

“That is a shame, isn’t it?” Mei said with a smirk, sending Kakashi a wink over her shoulder before disappearing behind a shelf of books. Kakashi slumped back against his chair, somehow feeling both disappointed and entirely too excited.

==0==

Kakashi came back the next day with an armful of books and a mournful prayer for his wallet. (As it turned out, one of those reforms Mei put into place to help revamp the library was to make late fees higher). Unfortunately, Mei wasn’t the one running the counter, but since it also wasn’t Ao, that didn’t deter Kakashi. He could always come back a little later to try and collect her answer. Plus, Chojuro at least wouldn’t try to mock him while he was making his returns, nor would he stare Kakashi down in sheer disapproval. In fact, Chojuro smiled as he saw Kakashi approaching.

“Hello Kakashi,” He greeted kindly. “Returning books today?”

“Yep, and paying off those late fees while I’m at it.”

“Thank God.” Chojuro heaved a relieved sigh. “Mei would have killed me if I even thought about letting you check out anymore books.”

Kakashi snorted at that. “Oh trust me, I know. She gave me an earful about it yesterday.”

“Let’s get this whole mess settle then,” Chojuro said with a laugh, holding out his hands. Kakashi unceremoniously dumped the book pile into them. To Chojuro’s credit, he didn’t even falter under the sudden weight. He took the collection readily and immediately set to work getting them checked-in and tallying up the fee for each one. The whole process only took about ten minutes (and fifty dollars. Kakashi supposes he has only himself to blame for that). As Chojuro was printing out the final receipt, Kakashi glanced around the library, hoping to spot Mei going about her business among the shelves, but she was still nowhere to be found. With a slight frown, he turned back to Chojuro.

“Would you happen to know if Mei will be in today?” He asked. Chojuro grimaced sympathetically as he handed over the receipt.

“I’m sorry, no. Unfortunately, today’s her day off.”

“Ah, alright,” Kakashi said, a polite smile on his face despite the disappointment rising in his chest. “Well, thanks anyway,”

“Oh, before I forget. Mei did tell me that if you came by and got everything settled that I was to give you this.” He handed over a novel that Kakashi recognized as the Icha Icha Mei had confiscated.

Thank you,” Kakashi said, taking the book and clutching it to his chest. With a polite nod to Chojuro, he headed toward the front exit. On his way out, he cracked open the book, eager to pick up where he left off, and almost missed the small scrap of pink stationary that fell out.

_Dinner would be lovely. Come by the library tomorrow at 7 and we can find somewhere nice. Just know that you will be the one paying._

_-Mei_

Kakashi stared at the little piece of paper for what felt like ages, trying to wrap his brain around the idea that _Mei had said yes to going on a date with him_. With a smile, he gently tucked the stationary back into the front of the book. He tried to read some on his walk back to his car but he couldn’t focus on the words.

He had something, _someone_ , much more pleasant to occupy his thoughts.


End file.
